Whose Bear Line is it Anyway?

Another week of walking (and other shenanigans). I’m not committed to blogging weekly, though that’s what i’ve done so far. I’ll pretty much just be posting when I have time, something to say/write about, and service to do so. This was a big week!! We lost a few in our tramily to injury and an allergic reaction (though he is back on trail and trying to catch up as we speak) but we also gained a few that we thought we had lost last after the first few days!

 

The boys (Decaf Cheddar and Significant Other) were separated for a few days this week after they struggled to get going in the morning and didn’t make the same mileage as the rest of us that day. We spent 2 days without service not knowing where they were and at some point they got in front of us, but we are back together now.

We hit our first and second big milestone this week! Monday we crossed out of Georgia and into North Carolina, and 2 days later we crossed the 100 mile mark. We finally started to do some bigger miles (like 9-12 miles per day) instead of the 6s and 7s we were doing last week, and i’m excited about that. I thought about leaving the group last week and doing bigger miles, but giving up a tramily is giving up a lot, especially financially. I like having people who are thinking about me and my safety out here, people to share equipment with, to compare plans with, to share hotel rooms and shuttle costs with, and I genuinely really like these people and thinking about not seeing them again for the next 5-6 months makes me sad. So, for the time being, our tramily (which I have named The Dirty Bubble) lives on.

We stayed at Hostel Around the Bend one night, which I highly recommend. It actually turned into an impromptu nero day when we got there, because we couldn’t leave despite only having gone 4 miles before getting there. They had showers, laundry, games, beds, foot massagers, cats and dogs, a kitchen, and free shuttles to town for errands. We all pitched in and made tacos for a family dinner and played cards against humanity. Some may say we wasted an afternoon of hiking but in my opinion, it was part of the AT experience. Lisa and Gordon are the owners and they are AMAZING. I can’t praise them enough, they really took care of us.

One problem with being with a bunch of hikers, is a lot of us have the same gear. One of my injingi sock liners was missing after I did laundry, and someone had accidentally taken it (which I figured). Luckily I had size small (which is weird because I do not have small feet, I’ve been a size 9-10 since 4th grade) and everyone else at HATB had M, L, or XL, so it was returned before we left.

I have had a few stumbles and falls this week, including 2 rolled ankles which haven’t been fun. Every time I fall, I lay on the ground in shame for like 30 seconds before trying to get up. Hopefully nobody ever comes around the corner and sees me sprawled out on the ground and panics. I’m still carrying my pool noodle for absolutely no reason besides I find it funny when people give me weird looks about it. It does made a good cushion on occasion. Once we encounter a swimming hole it’ll be worth it… In other injury news, I have a skinned heel, a new blister on top of my old blister on my right little toe, and my left foot is angry at the world because i’m so flat footed. Vitamin I is my best friend at the moment. In case you wanted to get really personal, I’m also covered in rashes from wearing wet clothes all week. Between the humidity and the rain, they never got a chance to dry out. I just made the decision to send my extra socks home, and I really hope I don’t regret it.

One member of our group, Phoebe (aka P Bitty) hung up her bear line the other night at Betty Creek while it was still light but didn’t hang her food yet since she hadn’t eaten dinner yet, only for another hiker to think it was an abandoned line, try to use it, get it tangled to the point of having to cut the line, only to find that it was not an abandoned line, but our poor Pheeb’s line. So, rule of thumb, hang your own line!! Or ask someone before adding your bag to theirs!!!

I’m not sure when hiker hunger generally hits, but i’d like it too at some point in the next month please. My appetite isn’t great when I hike, which I knew it would likely be an issue early on. I’m definitely not eating enough, even if I wasn’t hiking several hours a day, so i’m trying to be picky about what I am eating, and choosing energy dense foods like nuts, bars, pasta, and nut butters. Adding powdered milk to everything I can for extra calories and protein and trying to eat more at times my appetite is higher. We’ll see how it goes.

Until next time!